Copycat Chipotle Chicken Recipe (Have it At Home)

5 stars from 2 reviews

Copycat Chipotle Chicken Recipe (Have it At Home)

My copycat Chipotle Chicken Recipe makes beautifully seasoned, charred, and grilled meat for a spicy exterior and unbelievably juicy center.

Author: Donna Elick

Servings:

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Ingredients

1/4 cup diced chipotles in adobo or 2 whole chipotles + 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil
1/4 large red onion roughly chopped (about 1/2 cup)
4 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons lime juice (1 lime)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Instructions

Place all of the ingredients, except for the chicken, in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Process on high speed until a smooth paste forms.
Pour the marinade over the chicken breasts and stir to fully coat each chicken breast with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 hours.
Preheat grill or stovetop grill pan. Brush grates with additional olive oil, if desired. Remove chicken from marinade and discard excess marinade. Due to the risk of bacterial contamination, do not reuse or consume marinade.
Grill chicken breasts for 8-10 minutes on each side, or until the center of the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
Allow cooked chicken to rest for 5 minutes before chopping or slicing into pieces.

Notes

This dish has some nice spiciness to it. Increase the amount of chipotles in adobo sauce for additional heat. Reduce chipotles and/or black pepper to decrease the spicy heat.

The marinade is thick, so when you place the chicken on the grill, the marinade caramelizes a little bit, and excess will burn off on the grates. When using a grill plate on the stovetop, this excess marinade can start gathering on the grill plate. Try to move the chicken as little as possible once you have set it onto the preheated pan so that it forms nice grill lines and the marinade doesn’t glop up all over the pan.

We served this chipotle chicken in a nice big salad bowl with cilantro lime rice, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, pico de gallo, sliced avocado, chopped cilantro, and corn. Black beans or pinto beans, corn salsa, guacamole, and/or mexican rice would also be nice in the bowl.

You can use a jar of diced chipotle peppers or a can of whole chipotles in adobo sauce. Either way, the chipotles will go into the food processor and break down into the marinade paste.

Nutrition